Here is our companionship in front of the Nauvoo Temple

Our other companion, Sister Walker from Riverton, Utah arrived late last night. So now our companionship is complete - Sister Brown, Sister Walker and me! We live in the same place and are enjoying getting acquainted. We seem to have a lot in common.
One of the assignments I have is to take tours through historic sites. Today I was at the Seventies Hall. I am standing outside with Sister Clement. This site was the "missionary training center" in the 1840s. The Seventies took the gospel of Jesus to the world in their day!

This statue of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith on their horses overlooks the Mississippi River and is directly across from the temple.
LtoR: Sister Brown, Sister Walker and me

This is a shot from inside the Seventies Hall. This was their meeting room where they received instruction. Upstairs was a library for study of religion and cultures. They also have displays of artifacts found in old Nauvoo...

Here I am going in to take a tour of Carthage Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered by the mobs in June 1844. 

 It has been a wonderfully busy week. Visiting Carthage historic site was the last of our training. This site is also part of our mission. I will have the blessing of getting to take tours through here on occasion.
Now that we have finished our training, I have had the opportunity to take people on tours through Brigham Young's home, John Taylor's home, Lucy Mack Smith's home as well as greet people in the Visitors Center! Tonight was my debut in "Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo" which is a musical production depicting life in Old Nauvoo. It tells experiences of the saints who lived here in Nauvoo in the 1840s and their reasons and preparations for the exodus West. The show runs six nights a week, year round every night except Sundays, including most holidays. ALL of the senior missionaries are expected to be in the production in one role or another, so there are 3 separate casts. I am in the Sarah Granger cast and we perform 2 nights a week. So I will do the show again this Saturday! It was soooo much fun!

The upper window is the window Joseph Smith fell from after he was shot by a mob of 100 men who stormed the jail. They also killed his brother Hyrum while they were defenseless in that room.
 LtoR- Sister Thomas, Sister Allen, Me and my companion Sister Brown.

Here I am  with one of the new young sister missionaries that serve here with us. Sister Kupfer is in my sister-in-law, Kerry Driggs Ward in Mesa, AZ and I met her in Mesa before we both left to serve as missionaries here in Nauvoo and just reunited!!

Today was my "day off" or what is called preparation day! Sister Thomas and I drove across the Mississippi  river into Iowa to see what the saints would have seen looking back at Nauvoo when they had to leave their "city beautiful" in the cold winter in February 1846. If you look closely you can see the Nauvoo temple just to the right of center.

One of the two costumes I wore in Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo tonight. I am standing outside the old Cultural Hall where the production takes place. My stage costume isn't finished yet so this is one of my site dresses that I wear when I conduct tours through historic buildings. (minus the fancy collar and white hat)

Here is the costume I end the show with! The curtain and stage are behind me. The show is a MUST SEE when you come to see me here in Nauvoo!

We have been in training with the new Presidency for the last 3 days. Lots to learn.......

This is our current Mission Presidency
Left to Right
President Chynoweth (1st Counselor), President Gibbons (President), President Jones (2nd Counselor)

Presidency with their wives

The 4 sisters that I was at the MTC with were invited to a breakfast at the Mission Presidents home this morning!

This is my new home in Nauvoo. It is out in the fields and is really nice. Sister Brown from Jerrome, Idaho is one of my companions. Sister Walker is coming on the 18th. It is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Sister Brown is probably the youngest Sister Missionary here! She is awesome - we are getting along great! Can hardly wait to meet Sister Walker....

Please write to me at
Sister Sharon Watkins
Nauvoo Illinois Mission
PO Box 215
Nauvoo, IL 62354

or you can text me on my cell phone number.....So happy to be here, but still getting settled in! We had the weekend to enjoy General Conference broadcast from Salt Lake City and get moved in. Tomorrow we start the 3 day orientation.

The journey to Nauvoo begins. We drove from Salt Lake City to Cheyenne, Wyoming this first day - Wednesday! From Laramie to Cheyenne we had black ice! 

We stopped at this restaurant in Rawlins Wyoming for dinner.

Thursday we drove from Cheyenne Wyoming to Council Bluffs, Iowa but stopped at the Winter Quarters Mormon Trail Visitors Center. The Porters and I have ancestors buried across the street in the Old Historic Cemetery.

LaReda and I are standing on my GG Grandmothers grave and right between us in the background where you can see the small headstone sticking up at the end of the dirt grave is Harold's ancestor! Amazing they are so close to each other.

We stayed right on the Missouri River at the Holiday Inn in Council Bluffs - across the river from Omaha, Nebraska (modern day Winter Quarters)

 Friday, April 4 2014 - Here I am going into the Nauvoo Visitors Center to meet my Mission President and his wife - Elder and Sister Gibbons.

Here I am inside the Nauvoo Visitors Center after meeting with my mission President. It's official and it is wonderful to finally be here!

 Here is my class this week. I'll have to come back in and add the names. Our teachers, Elder and Sister Morgan are sitting on the ground. We are all assigned to Visitors Centers and Historic sites - Utah Cove Fort, 6 Crossings and Martins Cove in Wyoming and of course Nauvoo Illinois.

When we came out of class today to start our trip it had snowed, alot!

Just leaving Provo Utah with Harold and LaReda Porter

 We drove up to my friend Cathie Jones and picked up my tubs and clothes. She was kind enough to feed us lunch before we left for Cheyenne Wyoming.

LaReda Porter, me and Cathie Jones (Cathie and I have been friends since High School in CA and went on to be roommates at BYU.......2 of my best friends!

I'm so grateful for all the friends and family who have helped me make this journey.

My companion and I parted ways. She is driving her car to Nauvoo with her son. This is what it looked like when we left. We had good weather all the way to Laramie Wyoming - although the storms were all around us (another tender mercy). From Laramie to Cheyenne we were driving at night with black ice warnings. A little scary. We won't drive at night again! Grateful to make it to the Holiday Inn safe and sound for the night. We will be driving to Omaha Nebraska tomorrow to stay for the night and see Winter Quarters Historic site (the Porters have never been there) and we will also go across the Missouri river to see Council Bluffs Historic Site in Iowa.

Elder and Sister Morgan have been our trainers and teachers this week at the MTC. They were Mission Presidents in the Winnepeg Canada mission and were most recently the Presidents of the St. George Utah Visitors Center. They are from Salt Lake City and now train couples to serve in Visitors Centers and Historic Sites throughtout the United States. Elder Morgan drew the cute little welcome man on the chalk board next to him!!!

This is the view across the street from the MTC! It was snowing in the mountains so you can't see the large mountains in the back.

It has been snowing! I hope is stops before we have to leave to drive back to Nauvoo tomorrow!

It is my last night in the MTC and it has been an incredibly fantastic experience. I have met some wonderful couples and sisters preparing to serve in many places throughout the world. Harold and LaReda Porter drove up today from Phoenix to drive with me back to Nauvoo - I am so grateful for their willingness to do this with me. I have class again in the morning and then we will leave about noon. I pray that the Lord will temper the elements over the next 3 days as we drive back to Nauvoo Illinois. It is forecast to be raining all the way.....